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Monday, March 7, 2011

Under Pressure

Well, with the snowstorm that hit on Saturday night, I was back in the graveyard again for my run yesterday; as I was for a workout earlier in the week as well. It’s about a 2 mile loop with a couple of hills, so it isn’t horrible...Although, weaving through a mass of people who have just buried a loved one can feel a bit awkward...

I’m finally starting to feel like I’m getting some fitness back. I did successive days of continuous 63 and 54 minute runs this week; the longest runs (sans walking break in the middle) that I’ve done since embarking on the comeback trail. 63 minutes was a little longer than I was planning, but I was hitting the lakeshore with a couple of the Brooks Marathon guys (Matt Loiselle and Rejean Chiasson) and despite the cold and rain, everything felt good…It’s nice to have some spring back in my stride and feel like I’m actually doing some real running again!

The CFL combine took place from Friday-Sunday in Toronto and I’d have to say it was the highlight of my weekend. I was working for the CCES as a “Doping Control Chaperone”. When I found out I’d have the chance to check out a bunch of football players junk, and get paid for it, I was pretty excited! Ha. Luckily, I didn’t have to do that part of the process. My job was basically to notify a certain athlete that they were being tested and then not let them out of my sight. For once, I was on the other side of things and got to be the one doing the notifying, following and watching. It was a pretty cool experience to be part of though. Seeing all the coaches, media attention, spotlights, and cameras rolling for things like the broad jump and bench press was pretty entertaining. I can’t imagine what it must be like for the NFL combine. One mammoth offensive lineman put up 225lbs in the bench 47 times! Ridiculous. I can remember some of the guys on the Penn State XC team with me struggle to put up the bar that many times when we had our own competitions! Haha.

It’s been nice to be home and see some friends and family, but I’m looking forward to stepping off the plane into the 25/80 degree sunshine in Phoenix!